Arctic Succession
by Vincent von Dreyfus
Summary: The sequel to "Dragon's Duet." Link hikes the Zora Canyon in search of its watery denizens, which haven't been seen for three years. Can he stop the murderous darkness lurking in the icy water before it makes its next kill?
1. The Glacier

**A Note from the Author:** So here we are again. I wrote this entire chapter all in one day; did I rush the publishing of this chapter too fast? I hope its speedy production doesn't take away from the quality; let me know if you feel it does, though, and I'll try to come back to it sometime this week.

Anyway, this is the sequel to Dragon's Duet, which in turn was the sequel to Phantom Destiny. Just as the previous two dealt with Darunia and Saria respectively, this story will take place during the Water Temple arc of _The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time_. I've decided to put an extra twist on it, though, to keep things interesting. Unlike Dragon's Duet, you can also be sure to experience some psychological drama, though probably nothing can reach the beauty that was Phantom Destiny's.

Prepare yourself; this story's got a few twists that may or may not please you...

Zelda stuff (c) Nintendo  
Oracle stuff (c) Nintendo, Capcom  
Original stuff (c) Me

* * *

**Part I ~ The Glacier**

Snow blasted in my face as I crossed the ice-covered shallows of the lake. Everything around me was long dead. It was so sickening, and yet so surrealistic and unbelievable, that I found myself playing a game where I'd guess how long ago something succumbed to the cold. It was sick and wrong of me; and yet, it wasn't until I laid eyes on the frightening sight of two carcasses--a Zoran woman and her child--that I realized that this wasn't a dream, it wasn't some nightmare I had conquered; everything was horribly real. The question became a serious one now: when _did_ they die?

My attention was too distracted by that question. Suddenly, I felt the snowy ground vanish from under me, and realized all too soon that one of my boots was raised above an icy cliff: the waterfall of Zora's Domain. It was too late for me to back away, and I felt myself sinking in a sort of slow motion that only contributed to that dream-like sensation. Before I knew it, all that kept me from falling to my doom in the jagged spikes below was a single hand grasping the slippery edge of the cliff. And it wasn't going to hold on for long. In moments, I would be dead, just like the hundreds and thousands of Zoras scattered around me.

-

My name is Link. You probably know my story pretty well, but let's see if I can refresh your memory a little more. For about a week and a half now, I've been traveling Hyrule on a quest to rid the kingdom from the evil rule of Ganondorf. I'd been in a coma for seven years, and immediately after waking the Hylian Light Sage Rauru commanded me to search out the other five sages within the Temples of Power. Early on in my sudden adulthood, I had had to wrestle the nightmarish grip of Phantom Ganon off of my sweetheart Saria in a rundown art museum, the Forest Temple. As chances would have it, she turned out to be the Forest Sage. Next I vanquished Ganondorf's evil influence from Lon Lon Ranch and won myself the heart of Malon Lon's horse, Epona. It was just in the nick of time, too, for the very next day the greatest geological catastrophe hit all of Hyrule: massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, all tied to the unleashing of an imprisoned dragon named Volvagia. Volvagia kidnapped and began to devour the Gorons from within their own prison facility, the Fire Temple. With the help of Darunia, he and I teamed up and slayed the monster once and for all. Like magic, Hyrule pulled itself back together. And once again, the person I helped in the temple turned out to be a sage. Darunia was the Sage of Fire, a fitting title for him.

So I wondered, would I find the Sage of Water in the Water Temple? I had planned on visiting Lake Hylia next, but Darunia wasn't so sure it was the best idea. He sent me to Biggoron atop Death Mountain Summit, who was a good friend of King Zora and knew something I didn't about how the Zoras were doing in Zora Canyon these past seven years.

By the gods, it was awful. I didn't even believe him when I heard it; not until I saw it with my own eyes, anyway. Biggoron told me the most chilling tale--literally. The Zoras had refused to serve the new king of Hyrule, and so Ganondorf punished them by cursing the Water Temple. So, big deal, right? I mean, the Water Temple is all the way in Lake Hylia, so how could it have harmed Zora Canyon? Turns out, a vicious monster in the temple took control of the lake's water--which happened to have its source in the canyon. Just as Death Mountain's crater was the hottest place in Hyrule, the creature of the Water Temple had turned the canyon into the coldest place in Hyrule. For seven long years, Zora Canyon got colder, and colder... Until Zoras started to disappear from Hyrule. Nobody'd seen any Zoras for three whole years.

I knew what I had to do. The Water Temple could wait; but I had to see if the Zoras were okay. If they weren't... No. They had to be okay. They had King Zora and Princess Ruto to protect them. They probably went into hiding. Or maybe they went to Labyrinna, the homeland of the Zoras (or so I've heard). Either way, I had to find out.

-

It was a long way to the Zora's Domain. Considering it was supposed to be frozen over, I didn't have the luxury of using the underwater tunnel to it in the Lost Woods; I'd have to take the Zora Canyon on foot, following the Zora's River upstream until I was deep into Eastern Hyrule. It would be difficult, but it was the only way. I couldn't even take Epona this time; the canyon was too jagged for a horse. As Navi and I crossed Hyrule Field past Kakariko Valley and towards the Zora's River, I looked around for signs of any Zoras. Truth be told, I wasn't expecting to see any; but perhaps if I could find one, they'd know if the others were okay...

At last we arrived at the canyon entrance. Two great landmarks stood before us: the Star Belt Mountains on one side, Thorned Fairy Mountain on the other. In between the two mountains was a long, winding gorge dug out by the river long ago. A rickety wooden sign stood near the gorge entrance, telling passer-by that it was that way to Zora's Domain. Looking into the immediate entrance to the canyon, things didn't look all that bad; but as Navi quickly pointed out, there was snow on the mountains farther away, even though they were far shorter than Death Mountain. It looked utterly lifeless over there. I knew from past experience that I had at least four days of traveling before I'd reach Zora's Domain; before braving the impending cold, I thought it might be a good idea to stop at Lon Lon Ranch for some food to take along for the road.

The first few miles were a big wave of nostalgia for me. I passed the ruins of an old gatehouse not in use even seven years ago, where all those years ago I met the owl Kaepora Gaebora and first learned about the dangers in the canyon ahead. Not much further up the Zora's River, I found the spot where a man used to sell Magic Beans. I never bought any, but they looked interesting. I had learned early on in life not to buy stuff just because it looks cool; Mido used to scam me all the time. He used to scam _everybody_; well, except Saria. The bean salesman was long gone, though, so I continued upstream until I came to the first roadblock.

I was completely familiar with it; seven years ago it had me stumped for a good three hours. A big fence blocked me from progressing any farther; on the other hand, the road on the other side of the river was clear of obstacles. The bean salesman had said that the only way to cross was by using my resources. That had me confused for a while, until Navi finally became fed up with me and told me I could hang on to a Cuckoo and fly across. There weren't any Cuckoos in Zora Canyon now; not that I could see, anyway. But that didn't matter; seven years ago the river would have swept me up, but I was tall enough and strong enough now that I could press against the current and walk across the river on foot. That's exactly what I did.

I pulled my boots and socks off and rolled up my leggings, thinking I'd just push across the water and not get soggy footwear. But the moment I put my bare feet in the water I screamed in distress. "NAVI!" I cried. "THIS IS THE COLDEST WATER EVERRRR!" The water's temperature was so cold that it hurt. I stamped across the river as fast as my feet would carry me, and struggled to get my footwear back on. "I'm NOT doing that again!" I stated firmly. At least I was on the other side now... But I'd never experienced contact with anything so cold. It was un-naturally cold. And to make matters more agitating, it felt _slimy_ as I wiped it off my feet. My feet felt almost soapy and slippery when I got my socks and boots back on.

"Got cold feet?" Navi giggled, observing my plight.

"This isn't funny, Navi!" I scolded. "There's something really weird about this river; it's almost like its...more than just water. Freezing water, that is."

"Just wait," the fairy sighed. "We haven't even reached the snow yet."

It was evening when I stopped at the pond where I played songs for a bunch of frogs. They were long gone too. With the exception of a bit of riverside plant life, in fact, there seemed to be little to no life in the canyon at all. No birds, no fish, not even any mosquitoes. We were all alone: just Navi, the freaky slime water, and I.

I dug in the sack Malon gave us and pulled out a bottle of Lon Lon Milk, a few crackers, and a wedge of Lon Lon Cheese. "Hungry, Navi?" I asked cheerfully, eager to grab a bite to eat on such a chilly evening. The wind was awfully cold for the summer, I thought. "I'll bet it's your fault," I scolded the water, as Navi landed on a tree stump.

"Link, quit talking to the water. Let's eat!" she chimed. I nodded happily and used my sword to clumsily cut the cheese into individual slices. I put a slice on a cracker and set it down next to Navi, and then made a little cheese-and-cracker sandwich for myself. Navi munched on her cracker voraciously; she hadn't had much to eat lately. Considering her size, however, it looked a lot more like she was taking little nibbles, which was, quite frankly, the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Laying down beside the tree stump, I watched her as I ate my own combination of crackers and cheese, and we ate in silence until all the crackers were gone.

Once we were done eating we both stretched and rested our heads on the ground and stump respectively. "Good night, Navi," I whispered. "See you in the morning."

"Good night, Link," she replied. "Have a good sleep."

"Good night, creepy water!" I yelled suddenly. Navi wasn't very pleased with me, but in the end we just laughed ourselves to sleep. With all the excitement we'd had lately, it was nice to just be able to laugh and play. I'd almost forgotten how it felt like. That night, I dreamed happy dreams of busy Gorons harvesting Bomb Flowers while Navi, Saria, and I, a child once again, ran through a field of flowers. We briefly passed Mido, but before he could scold us Darunia gave him a big Goron Hug--an experience which I don't wish to repeat.

The following day brought us a new setting, different than one I'd ever experienced in all my adventuring. As we started uphill, following the Zora's River as it turned into quick rapids, it lightly began to snow. We gasped and remarked in awe about it, and started trying to catch it in our tongues, but soon found the snow felt slimy to our tongues and abruptly ceased the activity. I could hear the river rapids laughing at us; Navi said it was just splashing I was hearing, but I wasn't so sure.

By the time the sun began to set, I almost considered the river a member of our troupe. For the second day in a row, I was able to play, imagine, explore, and just have fun. I felt like I was a kid again--well, I always felt like I was a kid, but you know what I mean. Navi and I sang and danced in the wintry breeze, and whenever we felt something really slimy we just attributed it to the river and carried on. The river would sometimes seem to babble along with Navi as she recounted some Kokiri folk tale, while other times it would laugh with me when Navi flew accidentally into a tree. That night we ate vegetable sandwiches.

The third day we found ourselves in the snow. Our progress slowed, and it became harder to keep walking for long periods of time. Our mood was solemn and quiet, and as I trudged through the snow Navi started listening for any signs of Ganondorf's evil. The snow was a constant frustration to me; it clung to my Kokiri Tunic (the Goron Tunic was far too cool for this sort of weather), it fell into my eyes sometimes, it packed in layers onto my boots, and it was so darn deep sometimes that my whole leg got stuck in a pile of snow once. Navi didn't have it easy either; she had to constantly dodge falling clumps of snowflakes.

That night we camped in a small cave that was sheltered from the snow. The next night we'd arrive at Zora's Domain. On the entire trip I hadn't seen one single Zora, and I was beginning to get worried. Navi was just as troubled. As she and I munched on more sandwiches, we fondly remembered the memories we had shared for the past few days, and grudgingly recalled what we might witness tomorrow. When we were done eating and we laid down to sleep, none of us said a word.

Navi's shriek startled me awake the next morning. "Link!" she cried. "Watch out!" I jumped to my feet and twirled around to face the beast she was warning me about. I nearly jumped a mile high when I saw a Giant Skulltula standing right behind where I had rested my head. There was something odd about it, though: it didn't move.

"Navi," I gasped, "I think it's frozen! For how long, I wonder?" Poking it proved my theory correct. This cave had probably been its home, until the winter cold proved too much for it. "It's a shame," I sighed. "I don't really know if I should pity it or be glad I'm alive!"

Our fourth day in the canyon was a very unpleasant one. The river finally left us, ducking under a thick sheet of ice as the snow just got thicker and thicker. I could see a giant frozen waterfall in the distance: the entrance to Zora's Domain, the capitol city of the Hylian Zoras. We had to climb rocky catwalks carved by the river eons ago, and they were icy and very slippery. If I made a single move that was uncontrolled, I'd slip and fall to my doom in the sharp stalagmites that towered out of the frozen river.

As we grew closer to Zora's Domain, we found ourselves in an almost-blinding blizzard. The visibility took a turn for the worse, and I had to shield my eyes from the soapy snow that pounded on us. Navi took shelter in my hat, no longer capable of dodging snowflakes. Through the blizzard, I could see ghostly apparitions in the distance. They looked almost like people, except they were featureless and shiny like ice. I prayed to the gods that they were statues erected while I was in my coma. I made slow progress, not willing to risk a fatal descent, and didn't reach the waterfall until the dead of night. The snow glowed in the darkness like a great phantom. I was able to keep moving only because I figured out that wherever I didn't see the "phantom" was somewhere without snow, such as a stalagmite looming below.

The waterfall was as hard as a rock, but for whatever reason the tunnel leading into the Zora's Domain was wide open. I took the time to look around in case of trouble, and then jumped across a small gap and into the tunnel.

-

For a brief sliver of a second, I felt like I was back in the Forest Temple. I don't really understand why, but I did. Perhaps it was the sudden awareness of lingering death, or maybe it was the ghost-like figures, or perhaps it was the statues everywhere, such a great work of art that they were almost real. But then reality arrived, and brought with it a sight so horrific that nothing I had experienced prior had even come close to the tragedy.

Zora's Domain was a sort of luxurious resort for the aristocratic Zoras to thrive in. It had two major parts: the Royal Domain, a cavern with a natural lake and waterfall that housed all the residential condos, and the Hot Spring Cavern, a cavern above the canyon that boasted warm, refreshing hot springs for stiff business Zoras to kick back and relax in. For Zoras, the Zora's Domain was a popular vacation spot for those who could afford it; even Zoras from Labyrinna liked to visit once in a while. The Royal Domain was also the home of the Hylian Zora Royal Family--namely, King Zora and his daughter, Princess Ruto. I had almost forgotten about them and their eccentricities, but had been looking forward to seeing them all the same.

Zoras themselves were a fish-like race that hailed ultimately from the kingdom of Labyrinna. They were a dignified people who were at one time hired by the Hylian Royal Family to protect the waterways of Hyrule. I assume they lost that job when Ganon took over. Seven years ago, I had traveled to Zora's Domain in search of the Zora Sapphire; this search eventually found me struggling to get out of the belly of a giant fish, the God of Water Jabu-Jabu. Within Jabu-Jabu I met the missing Princess Ruto, and together we defeated the parasite Ganondorf had planted in Jabu-Jabu's stomach. That was the last I had seen of the Zoras...until now.

As Navi and I stepped into the Royal Domain, our jaws dropped in horror. Everywhere we looked there were Zoras; big ones, little ones, old ones, baby ones. Some looked happy and delighted; others look scared and terrified. Some were in the water playing, others were on the shores running. Some of the women were beautiful, even though a few others weren't. But there was something they all had in common: they were all completely silent. As Navi and I stood there in awe, the only sound apart from our own breathing was the wind's howl resonating through the spacious cavern. Each and every single Zora in the domain was frozen solid in a rock-hard layer of ice. Icicles hung from the cavern's roof. All the water, even the waterfall, was an impenetrable ice.

I broke into a run, Navi trailing behind in a stupor. I checked everybody. Every single Zora, whether they were tiny babies or old ladies. They were all frozen statues, devoid of the slightest warmth of life. I wouldn't have to melt the ice to know the verdict: they were all stone dead. Zora's Domain was no longer a resort; it was a tomb.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and broke the silence. "Ruto? King Zora!? Is anybody here!?" I screamed. The only answer to my calls was the haunting echo of my own voice. I... I couldn't believe it. This had to be a dream--a nightmare! It had to be. There was no way every Zora could be... "King Zora!? KING ZOOORAAA!!!! Where aaaaare yoooooou!?" Wait... The Royal Chambers!

I didn't care if I slipped on the ice. So what if I got a scab? I had to know if the Zora King was still alive. I ran as fast as I could up a steep tunnel and into King Zora's throne room. A massive figure sat on a throne of silver, but he did not move. "King Zora?" I panted, out of breath from the steep incline. A corpulent Zora sat with great dignity atop the throne, but he was surrounded on all sides by a strange sort of red-colored ice. "No..." I shuffled up the steps to the side leading to the top of his throne. I felt the blood-red ice. There was a faint warmth, almost gone, but it was there. "Navi, King Zora's alive! Barely, but he's alive!" I was almost crying. "How...? We've got to thaw him!"

Navi shook her head with dismay. "No, Link, we can't. That's Red Ice."

I looked at her incredulously. "So?"

"Link, Red Ice can only be melted by Blue Fire; not really hot fire, but a special kind of fire that feels cold to the touch."

"Where can we find Blue Fire?"

"There might be some in the Hot Springs. They're in that cave near the Zora's Fountain, remember?" I nodded. Zora's Fountain was the source of the Zora's River, and rested high atop the canyon and Zora's Domain. It was the sacred home of Lord Jabu-Jabu, almost like the Great Deku Tree's Meadow back home. The entrance to the lake was just behind the throne, and I wasted little time in running to it. There was a massive cavern there that was too high up for me to reach as a kid, but I might be able to reach it as an adult...

I took a step back in intimidation as we burst back out into the blizzard. "Navi," I yelled over the howling wind, "I think the fountain's seen better days!" Lord Jabu-Jabu was nowhere to be found--hopefully, the god had left before things got too bad--but in his place were large ice floes and icebergs. The lake wasn't completely iced over, but the water looked like the same eerie stuff that was forming the river. Like the domain, the fountain was scattered with frozen-but-surely-dead Zoras. They looked like they had all frozen at different points in time. Some froze before they noticed anything was wrong. Others became statues running around trying to save their friends. It was almost like reading one of the picture books Fado always made, except I was really in one of the pictures. I walked around almost in a trance, wondering if indeed this _was_ some sick dream.

Then I saw two particular Zoras, frozen in mid-action like all the rest. One was a woman about ten years older than Malon and I. The other was a young hatchling Zora, lacking any limbs at all. I inferred that they were mother and child. The mother was clutching her child defensively, but a look of shock and disbelief covered her face. Her baby was crying, eyes full of fear for both it and its mother. On closer inspection, there was a hole in the mother's side; she had been stabbed and froze immediately afterward. What really disturbed me was the shape of the hole; I had learned from the Know-It-All Brothers that every sword leaves a different mark when it stabs something. Even from a distance, still walking, the sword marks were so familiar that I could identify them from where I was without a hint of doubt. The sword that killed her was mine.

Suddenly the ground pulled out from under me and I realized all too late that I had almost walked straight off the domain's waterfall and fell down into Zora's River's stalagmites. Gravity dragged me forward, and I just barely managed to grab the rounded edge of the waterfall with my hand. All the same, I knew that in a few seconds my fingers would slip and I'd fall to my death. Navi screamed for help, but it was no use. I knew nobody was going to save me.

* * *

**A Note from the Author:** Stay tuned--big plot twists coming up in the next chapter. Hope that wasn't too much of a spoiler already. Wrote most of this while listening to Tomb Raider Legend music, though everything after he entered Zora's Domain was to the tune of ZREO's re-orchestration of the Temple of Droplets, which I hope to integrate into this story somehow.

Please write reviews before you go! I really appreciate every review I get, and they're what keeps me going when the story gets rough!


	2. The Murder

**A Note from the Author:** Sorry for the wait; I'm on vacation in Europe now, so I don't have as much free time on my hands. But I assure you, your wait hasn't been in vain. Prepare yourself; this will be a good one (I hope).

Zelda stuff (c) Nintendo  
Original plot (c) Me

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**Part II ~ The Murder**

Those few seconds with my hand struggling not to lose its grip on the icy ledge and allow me to fall to my death brought me many thoughts and memories. I hung with a hollow feeling; strange, I thought, that in the seconds precluding my demise I should feel so empty and calm. Time seemed almost to stand still, with the exception of the snowflakes pouring down from the heavens. _So_, I thought with a bit of bemusement, _this is how I shall die. Not by sword or by arrow, not by claw or by fang, but by my own careless mistake. I wonder how I shall be remembered? Link, the bo--man who died because he wasn't looking where he was going. I suppose it has a ring to it..._ I looked up at the cloudy sky. The Deku Tree had told me seven years ago with his dying breath that the sky was created by Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom and Time. _So it is that the wise goddess has brought me to my downfall. Thank you, Goddess of Time, for this little match. I'm sorry I didn't put up a good enough fight. It seems your frozen tears shall send me to my death; congratulations for winning. I suppose I'll see you face-to-face soon enough. Until then, thank Farore for watching over me._ I could feel myself losing my grip, yet for some reason it didn't matter to me. I just gave a small smile to Nayru in the heavens. This was how it felt to be on the brink of death, I realized. All those creatures I slayed--did they have this feeling too? Did their minds grow peaceful the moment before my sword cut a gaping hole in their hearts? Or was it different for every person? Was that why Phantom Ganon screamed as he died? Or was he already dead? When the Deku Tree died, it had been a peaceful death, right?

Suddenly the whole world beneath me seemed to lurch forward and stop abruptly. My hand slipped and stopped. The canyon was quiet; almost too quiet. Where had Navi gone? Had she gone to find help? The peaceful feeling seemed to slip into loneliness. I was all by myself, alone in the freezing cold. How long would it take before they knew I was dead? Who would be the first to know? Probably Navi. But what if she was lost in the snow, or what if the snow pounded her into the ground already? Perhaps she was as good as dead as I was.

My hand slipped again; this time it couldn't hold on to anything. I felt my hand part from the cliff with an acute awareness, as if I could see it exactly as it happened from afar, and was able to describe every single sensual response I received. I felt gravity tugging me down, and I shut my eyes in fear of seeing too much blood in case my head was last to go.

But then it all stopped. Well, not exactly; the forces of nature were still pulling on me, but suddenly there was a second force, one that pulled me in the opposite direction. I felt something around my arm and looked up. There was a man wrapped in bandages and armor, desperately grasping my arm with both hands and trying as hard as he could to pull me back up. To my surprise, he succeeded, though he let out a feminine squeal as the sudden loss of resistance sent her flying with me back up into the deep snow of the fountain.

The man was the first to get up, and coughing the snow out of his lungs he looked at me with concern. "Are you alright, Hero of Time?" he demanded.

I pushed myself up onto my knees and dragged myself onto my feet. "Yeah... I'm okay..." I answered. That seemed to be a good enough answer for him, and he giggled in girly delight until he caught himself and said a manly "good."

"Link!" Navi cried, rushing from the man's side and joyfully swirling around me. "I'm so glad you're okay! I mean, what if I hadn't found Shiek in time?"

Shiek laughed almost nervously. "Then perhaps we'd be all safe." He eyed me suspiciously and scratched his bandaged chin. "I think we need to talk, Link."

I almost took a step back; Shiek was eying me with his fake-looking red eyes like he didn't even trust me. "Wh-What do you mean?" I stuttered. I just happened to glance down for a second, and within that time I realized that Shiek was holding the handle of his sheathed dagger cautiously, not taking his eyes off me for a single second.

"When I last saw you in Death Mountain Crater, I thought we were allies, Hero of Time," he growled. "I thought I could count on you of all people to help save Hyrule."

Now I really did start backing away--not towards the cliff, of course. "What are you talking about? What do you think I'm doing here, running a precious errand for dear Princess Zelda?"

Shiek blinked, but held his ground. "I hadn't taken a trip to the Zora Canyon for a whole year. I was about ready to give up on these Zoras, but I thought that you'd probably come looking for a way to get into the Water Temple here, so I came anyway to give you a hand. Maybe teach you a song. But I never expected this--not from you!" His eyes looked like they were about to cry. "All this time, I thought you were good! I believed in you!"

"Listen to me, Shiek!" I snapped. "Tell me what's biting you! I haven't done anything wrong since this whole thing started!"

"I saw you freeze King Zora," he said coldly. "You're as good as a murderer. I saw it with my own two eyes. How could you!?" Suddenly he flung out his dagger and charged towards me. It was an amateurish attack, though, so I easily stepped out of the way. Just to be safe, though, I drew my own sword and shield.

"Shiek, I'm going to tell you right now, I did not put that red stuff over King Zora. I was just on my way to the Ice Cavern to get something to free him." Shiek stared at me, torn between whether to believe me or whether to kill me. I put my sword and shield on the snow. He had saved me once, right? "Shiek, you have to believe me. If you really truly believe that I would try to kill King Zora, strike me down now. But if there's any inkling of doubt, please be rational. I don't know who did any of this killing, but I want it to stop just as much as you do." I looked deep into Shiek's eyes. There had to be some trust in me. I grew tense. Would he truly kill me?

Shiek lowered his weapon. "I'm sorry, Link. I should have known better." He sheathed his dagger and helped me pick up my own equipment. "I was testing to see if you were...him."

"Him?"

He nodded. "Him. When I climbed the stairs to the throne room, I saw a black shadow freeze the king. It was dark, but I could have sworn he looked exactly like you, just with glowing red eyes. I thought perhaps he had made himself look even more like you. I'm sorry I challenged you."

I almost took a double-take. Somebody who looked exactly like me? "But that's... That's impossible!" I burst. "There can't be another me! _I'm_ me!"

"I felt cold as ice whenever I looked at that shadowy man. Somehow I knew he was responsible for freezing over Zora Canyon and murdering all these Zoras."

"H-How did he freeze King Zora?"

"...by touching him. That's all he had to do. King Zora didn't even put up a fight. He thought the man was you, Link." Shiek looked out at the hundreds of dead Zoras frozen both in time and in ice. "Look at these people. They must have all thought it was you too. They all look happy; just the ones with holes in their hearts are frightened."

"We've got to do something," I growled, tightening my grip on my sword. "This insanity has to stop. Whoever this shady man is, he's killed every single Zora I've seen, and has done so for seven whole years. On top of it, he's doing it in my name." Shiek turned to observe me. My back was straight, and my face was dead-serious. "I swear upon the lives of all the Zoras in Hyrule, and even those fortunate enough to live far away in Labyrinna, I shall bring justice to this land."

Shiek was about to say something when we heard a wicked laugh not too far from where we stood. Where Jabu-Jabu's sacrificial altar once stood was a large icy slope which's end dropped off into the dark waters of the fountain. It was difficult to see in the darkness of the night, not to mention through the snow, but I could just barely make out a dark spot on top of the hill that was even darker than the sky. I struggled to see the figure, but my eyes just weren't good enough. Where it stood, though, the air seemed to distort and quiver like the surface of the water. A pair of beady red eyes glimmered from the shadow and locked with mine. A voice spoke, coming from the shadow, and it was immeasurably cold in tone. "Well, well, well," the shadow chuckled. "After seven years, you finally show your face. I've waited for so long for this. Too long." I heard a dripping sound near my shoulder, but couldn't see where it came from. Suddenly, I realized there was an awful lot of dripping sounds that I hadn't noticed, too focused on the shadow to pay attention to anything else. None of the sounds seemed natural.

"Who are you? Are you the evil from the Water Temple?" Shiek demanded angrily.

"I am the ruler of Zora Canyon, as decreed by the Great Ganondorf!" The shadow flickered, seeming to vanish and return in the blink of an eye. "But don't worry, your eyes don't deceive you. I am who I appear to be: Link, in the cold, damp flesh."

His voice was enough to make me shudder. "But how can that be?" I inquired. "_I'm_ Link!"

"Exactly." The shadow began to move down the slope, gliding across the ice as if they were one in the same. We backed up a little, weapons raised.

"But... But _why_!? That isn't possible! Is it?"

I felt colder and colder the closer this "dark" Link approached. "Seven years ago, the Great Ganondorf created her: the most perfect of beings. She could be whatever she wanted, be however big she wanted, and from her body she could _create_ whatever she wanted. She created me. I was born from the reflections you cast into Lake Hylia all those years ago. I am your reflection, oh-so-great Hero of Time. And in your name, she and I have removed the smelly fish from Ganondorf's new kingdom. The last thing these Zoras remember, Link, is that they were murdered by their own beloved hero." Dark Link let out a triumphant laugh.

"You MURDERER!" I screamed. I charged at him, sword ready to slice his throat off. Before he could even move, I swung the Master Sword right between his head and chest. The moment my sword touched him, though, he vanished.

"Link, look out behind you!" Navi cried. I turned around in time to see Dark Link rise like a phantom from the snow behind me. It was like seeing my own reflection in the water become three-dimensional before my very eyes; I was stunned in disbelief. The shadow flickered as it came to full height, and I only had time to get my shield up before he slammed down hard with his _own_ Master Sword.

"You think you can harm me, Fairy Boy?" the darkness growled mirthfully. He slammed he hilt of his sword on my shield with a force strong enough to knock me to the ground. He rose his sword to strike me again. I pushed myself away. "Oh no, you can't get away from me that easily." Dark Link sunk into the snow again and re-emerged behind me. I didn't have any time to protect myself...

There was a thumping sound, and I looked up to see an arrow sticking out of Dark Link's chest. The man peered down at it in confusion. "What? Where did _that_ come from?"

"From me, phantom," answered Shiek. We both glanced at him with surprise; there he stood with a bow and another arrow notched and pointed right at Dark Link's head. "It's ridiculous to think that Link could defeat himself; but things change when you add a third person to the party." I was amazed that Dark Link hadn't shown any signs of physical pain from the arrow, but I spent little time gawking. While his attention was off of me I rolled out of the way and scrambled to my feet.

Dark Link took a step back, and looked back and forth between the two of us. "...perhaps you are right." He took a shadowy hand and yanked the arrow out of his chest. "...but then again, perhaps you are wrong. Let's find out." He ran towards us with his sword ready again, but we were prepared this time. Shiek immediately launched the arrow he was using at Dark Link's forehead, and I came in from the side with my Master Sword. This time I managed to slice through him, but he only flickered and absorbed the injury. "It'll take more than a slice!" he cackled, kicking me hard in the leg. I had fought enough battles to stand a kick, and I sliced him again. This quick retaliation had taken him by surprise, and in his moment of shock I cut him a third time. He pulled out a bow, but I knocked it out of his hands with my shield. In a way I didn't blame him for his mistakes; this was probably the first time he had ever fought somebody that could put up a decent fight, let alone two people. "Perhaps I over-estimated you, Link," he growled.

Before I could grab him, Dark Link feinted right and dove left. He darted towards Zora's Domain. I started to go after him when Shiek ran past me. "Don't worry, I'll catch him," he called. "Go find that Blue Fire! We'll meet back here!" Before I could answer, both Shiek and Dark Link were gone.

In the sudden silence of the fountain I felt suddenly alone. "Navi?" I called. "Are you still there?" My fairy companion fluttered down to my side.

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"It looks like we have no choice. Let's go to the Ice Cavern."

-

The Ice Cavern... It had a history dating back to pre-Hyrule years, back when River Zoras still flocked the mountains. It was named for how it was discovered; despite being peak temperatures in the summer, the inside of the cavern was full of ice. After its discovery, it became a small shrine known as the Temple of Droplets; then the Water Temple was created, and the shrine fell into disuse until a large hot spring was discovered. Tourism boomed after that, and it became known as the Fountain Hot Springs. Not only did the warm waters appeal to Zoras during the winter, but the ruins of the Temple of Droplets gave it historic value. It was half the reason why people came to Zora's Domain. Of course, that was years ago.

The cave was probably the one place in the whole canyon that felt naturally cold. The ice wasn't sticky, the air wasn't damp; it was just really, really cold. My breath was almost as dense as a cloud of smoke. Navi and I shivered at the entrance, almost hesitating. The only thing driving us to continue was the fact that it could make the difference between life and death for King Zora. Where would we find the Blue Fire in a desolate place such as the Ice Cavern?

As it turned out, we couldn't find it anywhere. We searched the old subterranean ruins for hours with no success. The only new shred of knowledge I got out of it was how bad it felt to be frozen. There were creatures in the Ice Cavern that were made completely out of ice; Navi called them Freezards, the undead priests of the Temple of Droplets seeking revenge for its abandonment. Ganondorf had probably raised them. These Freezards had a habit of blowing air so cold it could give a person frostbite; it never got me, but it was close enough for me to feel it. The Freezards weren't too difficult to handle, though. The Ice Keese were the trouble. They were merely bats on fire, like the Fire Keese in the Fire Temple; only trouble was, they were coated in Blue Fire. They kept diving at me whenever they saw me, and Navi said one touch of the freezing Blue Fire and I'd be frozen solid. I was nearly paranoid; whenever I heard the slightest sound I jumped and looked around, believing it to be an Ice Keese trying to spell my end. Thank goodness for the Fairy Bow.

Finally, though, we discovered a small door hidden in a corner behind a pillar. It was the last door in the entire shrine; we had checked everywhere else. Navi and I looked at each other and prayed to Farore that the secret of the Blue Fire was behind that door. It was no use, though; behind the door we only found a wall of ice, thousands of Zoras frozen behind it. They had probably been the unfortunate tourists in the last seven years, herded away from the warm hot spring and sealed away in ice. "No use looking in here, Navi," I sighed glumly. "Just another Zora Cemetery." I began to turn to leave when Navi called my attention to an inconspicuous box at the other end of the cave, near a big pile of snow.

Curious, I started approaching the box. Suddenly, a Wolfos burst out of the pile of snow and charged towards me. It was different from the usual Wolfos--it was snow white--but I was able to bring it down with ease anyway. Leaving it to howl and burn into nothing, I investigated the box. It was almost frozen solid, but I was able to break it open by picking at the ice with my sword. Inside was a pair of boots almost exactly like my own, except they had black iron around bases. "Iron Boots?" I grumbled. "Is that was all this was for?"

"Hey Link," Navi offered, "didn't we see the hot springs back there? What if there's a secret passage to the Blue Fire?"

"Good idea," I nodded. "Let's head back there."

Despite the cold, a large subterranean hot spring was to be found near the center of the shrine. I had my first encounter with White Rupees last time I had encountered it; magical Rupees that unlocked doors if I had enough of them. Keys these days were made out of them for convenience; the age of White Rupees was long past. My reflection was visible all around me; the circular ice that made up the walls of the cave weren't shy to display everything in the room. I wondered if it was really my reflection, or if it was really Dark Link.

Looking down into the water, I could see a sort of door at the bottom of the spring. "Gosh, I hope I can hold my breath that long," I muttered as I sat down to yank my boots off and replace them with the Iron Boots. The boots were light when I held them, but as soon as my feet were in them they became awfully heavy. I knew without even standing that I wouldn't be able to run in them, let alone swim. "You wait here, Navi," I ordered my companion. "I'll be back." The last bit was more to re-assure me than her. I took a deep breath, taking in as much air as I could, and stepped into the spring.

In an instant I plunged into steaming hot water that seemed to burn every organ of my body. If I didn't drown, I figured I'd overheat. Trying my best to stand the heat I trudged along the rocky bottom of the spring towards the small passageway. It was uphill, and fortunately for me it was small. I stepped out into a small chamber lit by a single large flame, soaking wet and shivering in the cold. There before me was a large sort of fireplace lit with a brilliant blue-violet flame. Its light did nothing to warm my freezing body, though; instead, it only made me feel even colder, quite the opposite of what I would have expected from such a hot-looking fire. Spitting water out of my throat, I mumbled, "This must be the Blue Fire; it has to be!" It was a pain walking to the fire with those blasted Iron Boots; without the weightlessness in water, it felt like I was lifting a mountain with every step. But I managed to get to the fire, and with a sparkling bottle I scooped some of it into a bottle; I don't exactly know why, but somehow I knew it would work. A wisp of the flame was captured and my bottle immediately grew cold. It almost stung my dripping wet clothes as I put it away, but I did what I had to do. With my remaining strength I stomped all the way back to Navi, getting back up on top of the hot water by yanking my Iron Boots off.

-

Shiek met me at the entrance of the fountain. "Did you get the fire?" he demanded as soon as he saw me. I could have sworn it was snowing harder; or maybe it was just because I was soaking wet and had been outside the blizzard for so long. I nodded and held out the bottle holding the Blue Fire. Shiek eyed it joyfully and pulled out his harp. Seeing the expression on my face, he quickly explained himself. "Just in case we don't have any quiet time again for a while... I'd like to teach you the Serenade of Water." I suddenly realized this was the first night he had ever spoken without using riddles. There was probably just no time. Shiek played a short melody on his harp, and I repeated it on my ocarina. My memory was sharp; just one time was good enough for me. "The Serenade of Water will warp you to Lake Hylia; it will probably come in handy once we are done here." Without another word, he ushered me inside the Zora's Domain.

"Did you kill my shadow?" I asked once we were out of the storm.

He shook his head. "He managed to get away. For now, anyway. Next time we meet, I swear he'll regret it." We came out of the tunnel behind the frozen King Zora. I felt a trace of warmth as I approached the Red Ice; again, the opposite of what I would have expected. "Hurry, Link! Melt the ice!"

I nodded and pulled out my bottle. With all due swiftness I opened it and dumped the fire on the Red Ice. The flames only lasted for a few seconds, but it was long enough to somehow melt the Red Ice completely. King Zora sprung to life immediately. "Wh-What? Who saved me?" he demanded. His voice was stiff and disciplined, full of the utmost dignity and sounding almost stuck-up.

"Link, your majesty," I answered, even though Shiek and I still stood behind his long red cape.

"Link? After all these years? Young man, stand before me like a true knight so I can see you." Shiek and I stepped down the stairs and stood on the messenger's altar, the designated spot across the Zora River from the throne where the king's subjects were to speak to him. With great purple eyes he looked us over. King Zora was a corpulent man to say the least, and he took up his entire throne and more. In contrast, his stubby legs and flipper-like webbed feet didn't manage to touch the bottom of the stream, and his scaly, bluish-white arms weren't much longer. Like all Ocean Zoras (as their species were called), King Zora was covered in turquoise-colored spots that dotted the upper sides of his scaled fish-like body. He was dressed in the finest of silk water-proof robes, and wore a crown of pure gold. In size he was immense, and even as an adult his head was higher than mine. "Link, was it?" he asked, rubbing the mustache-like webbed membranes on his face. "Thank you for saving me, but I'm afraid you took too long getting here. My people are dead, and my kingdom is now a glacier. I shall have to rally any remaining Zoras I can find and evacuate to Labyrinna. Our time in this god-forsaken land of Hyrule is up. I have become sick of this place."

"But your majesty," Shiek interrupted suddenly. "You must stay! Hyrule will never be the same without you; Ganondorf's reign is almost over, things will got back to how they were soon! And if you leave, we shall lose all the water in our land. We all know Jabu-Jabu swims with you!"

King Zora eyed Shiek suspiciously and almost with bitter amusement. "Hah! Don't you dare speak such rubbish to me!" he roared. "Jabu-Jabu? He left three years ago. He was smart, he knew we were doomed to extinction. Without our guardian deity, we had no hope; we _had_ to give up our fountain to the evil plaguing Lake Hylia. Young sir, there hasn't been any water in the Zora River for _three years_!"

"But that's impossible!" Shiek cried. "There is water in the fountain, even water at your feet!"

King Zora shook his head so slowly and somberly you would think him a man doomed to die. "This is not water. This slimy liquid... Do you not realize what it is? With Jabu-Jabu and the water of the fountain gone, this evil slime from Lake Hylia was free to take its place! For three years, this goop has been flowing out of the Water Temple, the most sacred of all Zora sites."

"What!?"

I looked at the water trickling past King Zora's toes. I suddenly stopped seeing it as a mischievous river and started to see it as a sinister monster. "It is this water," King Zora continued, even lower and more serious, "that massacred my people. Not the cold, not Ganondorf's men, not even Jabu-Jabu's absence. It was this accursed liquid that murdered my only daughter!" the King roared suddenly, tears shooting from his eyes like waterfalls as he pounded the arm of his throne with dark rage. "My dear Princess Ruto!" he sobbed. "Why did you have to die!?"

My jaw dropped. "Y-You mean she's dead!?" I gasped.

"What did you think I meant!?" he snapped. "She's gone from this world, and it is all thanks to this _stupid_, _vile_, _evil_, _murderous_ slime!" With every word he kicked the surface of the water with his foot angrily. "Whatever evil you are, may Majora torment your soul for eternity and feast on your flesh!" I took a step back. Things had suddenly began to appear far darker in the throne room, and King Zora was the darkest of them all. This was so unlike him; he had been laid back when his daughter had gone missing seven years ago, even when there was the possibility that she was dead. Now he was so cold, so thirsty for vengeance, that it was almost as if he was corrupt himself. The hatred he had for the evil in the Water Temple; it was so unfathomable I couldn't believe it. I had never seen so much hate in my life.

_Hatred..._

"K-King Zora, please calm down!" Shiek pleaded.

"Calm down!?" King Zora spat. "How can I calm down!? My daughter has been taken from me, and you vile creature wish me to calm down!? How dare you speak to me that way! I am your superior, I am king of all the waterways of Hyrule!" He was visibly trembling. I could have sworn he was frothing at the mouth. "As your king, I _order_ you to rip the evil in the Water Temple to shreds! To shreds, I say! And then they must all burn; if you do not bring me back the ashes, I shall have you both executed on the spot, and the Zoras shall never again pledge allegiance to the Hylian crown!"

_Darkness..._

"But where shall we find you?" I asked.

"Right here!" the king stated, clenching the arms of his chair with every muscle in his body. "I shall not leave this throne until justice is served!"

My eyes grew wide, and Shiek was starting to look incredibly nervous. "Your majesty," I begged, "if not anything else, you mustn't stay here! Anywhere but here!"

"Rubbish!" King Zora snapped. "You dare question me!? Do you know who I am!?"

_Arrogance..._

"Your majesty, if you stay here you'll be killed! There's a murderer out there; if he finds out you're still alive--"

"I can take him! I can take anybody! If you shall not do as I bid, than I shall have to do it myself!" He puffed up his chest. "I refuse to leave my kingdom! I've made up my mind!"

Now I was yelling too, Shiek with me. I couldn't hear what she was screaming, but it was roughly in the same sense as my own words. My throat was beginning to feel sore. "_PLEASE_, your majesty, we have to get out of here!"

"_NEVER_!" King Zora's furious words were even louder than mine. They echoed throughout the entire domain, silencing us all in utter exasperation. We had lost our capability to beg.

_This man is a threat to our kingdom... He must die!_

King Zora eyed us like traitors. "If you so much as speak one more word, Jabu-Jabu help me I shall kill you!" he growled. "You will not help me!? Then you are no better than Ganondorf!"

Shiek let out a scream. "YOUR MAJESTY!" All of the sudden, a black shadow jumped out from behind the throne and launched his sword straight through King Zora's back. King Zora moaned and toppled into the slimy water. A quick look down showed me lifeless purple eyes and a crumpled scaly heap in the water. Instead of a dark blue color, the water under his seat was a dark crimson.

"No..." I cried.

Dark Link stood on the dead king's throne, looking down at us with a great sneer plastered on his face. When he spoke, his voice was so cold and heartless that it could have withered the entire Lost Woods with a single word. "This man wasn't fit to live," he explained darkly. "I should have killed him long ago."

"Will you ever stop killing!?" I roared, seizing the hilt of my Master Sword and drawing it in a flash.

Dark Link smiled, shaking his head like I was some idiot. "Not until every Zora in Hyrule is dead. It is as my mistress demands." He peered down at the carcass in the water. "Oh, and by the way, King Zora," he laughed. "Lady Morpha gives her greetings." Dark Link stabbed King Zora again for good measure and jumped across the stream to the messenger's altar. Without a word he began swinging his sword even more furiously than before. Shiek and I tried harming him like we did last time, but my sword just bounced off his body.

"What the--!?"

"Oh, didn't you know? With every Zora that I erase, I grow ever stronger. It was a reward from my mistress." Dark Link used his free hand to knock us towards the evil water. Shiek and I were cornered.

"Link!" Shiek commanded desperately. "There's nothing we can do!"

I glanced behind us at King Zora. "But--"

"There isn't any other way! As long as we're in this canyon he can do whatever he likes with us! Play the serenade, quickly!" With one last look at King Zora I pulled out my ocarina and grabbed Shiek's hand. Dark Link pulled back his sword and started backing up. I played the notes of the Serenade of Water as fast as I could. The shadow quickly realized what we were doing and commenced his charge, but it was too late. Moments before his sword was close enough to slice through both of our hearts, Navi, Shiek, and I became lost in a blue light. As all became quiet, the last thing I heard was Dark Link screaming in rage.

"I swear, Link, I shall cut your throat if it's the last thing I do!"

* * *

**A Note from the Author:** Hope you enjoyed it! Pretty tense near the end. Sorry for all the jumping around near the Ice Cavern; I may come back one day and add to it. I'm actually a hater of Dark Link, I think he's completely over-rated. People make such a big deal out of him in the Water Temple, but he's just a reflection created by Morpha. But all the same, I hope you like the new plotline I created for the Water Medallion arc of the game. Please don't forget to write them reviews!


	3. The Successor

**A Note from the Author:** Sorry for the wait. I got writer's block for a while near the ending, and on top of that last weekend I was in Wales without internet. But it is finally done, and is probably the longest bit of writing I've posted. Hope you've got time--9,112 words. All the same, enjoy, and I hope you've enjoyed Arctic Succession in its entirety!

* * *

**Part III ~ The Successor**

The blue light faded and revealed to us a dark, stormy morning, so early in the day that the sun had yet to rise. The sky was full of black rain clouds pouring water down from the heavens in such a thick torrent that we were blasted instantly with cold, slimy water. Lightning flashed above us, briefly illuminating the shore of Lake Hylia in the distance. The silhouette of the old Marine Research Laboratory ominously loomed above a dying field of grass. It was only there for a split second, and then darkness, fog, and rain instantly blanketed the coast from our view.

We ourselves stood on an island which I remembered being in the middle of the lake. If memory served, it was Outset Island, named for being so detached from the rest of the world. All that connected us to shore was a rotting wooden suspension bridge that shook and rattled in the wind of the storm. The island was empty, with the notable exception of a dead tree that in the dark looked almost like the malevolent ghost of Barinade, the parasitic monster I slayed in Zora's Fountain seven years ago. The center of the island was covered in an altar portraying some strange symbol--considering how similar it was to altars in Death Mountain Crater and the Sacred Forest Meadow, I assumed it was the symbol of the Water Temple.

I could still remember the sparkling waters of Lake Hylia seven years ago, swarming with fish, the occasional Blue Tektite, and a home-away-from-home for the Zoras. My visit to the lake was a brief one; I had traveled to it via a tunnel in Zora's Domain merely to help out in the search for Princess Ruto. It was in the lake that I discovered a bottle holding a message from the princess, telling us that she was inside Lord Jabu-Jabu. The lake was so deep, I was glad I found it near shore.

Those memories seemed more like a dream now. As we peered out around us, Lake Hylia felt far more like "Hylia Crater." As far as the eye could see, the magnificent waters of the lake were nowhere to be found, save in a miniature pond surrounding Outset Island, which seven years ago would have been the deepest part of the lake. Yet even that was not satisfactory; the water below us was that same eerie blue as the slimy stuff in Zora Canyon. It trickled upstream in a small brook, all the way up the bowl, until it reached the Zora River and expanded in size. Despite the pouring rain, the great Lake Hylia was dried up, and with it all of Hyrule's water.

These facts were so obvious that I could observe them in the two seconds I saw the lake. Reality sunk in almost immediately and I sunk from Shiek's grasp, falling to my knees in utter defeat. I could only stare at the ground, the grass yellowing and dying from lack of actual water. The rain was all an illusion, tricking the grass into thinking help had finally come and then just kicking them when they were already down. That's how I saw myself. Not like the grass, but like the rain. For seven years, the Zoras had thought me their heroic ally, ready to save them from the evil Ganondorf. For five years they valiantly waited, doing the best they could to survive, but help never came. Instead, evil tricked them into thinking I was there and slayed them all when they finally thought they were safe. They trusted me, and where was I!? Napping in some stupid temple because an old man thought I wasn't strong enough to do anything! But I came, in the end, and what happened? The last Zora, their _king_ of all people, was murdered right in front of me! I slammed my fist into the parched dirt. "Failure! That's what I am!" I cried, the only real water for miles raining from my own eyes. I hit the ground again. "I'm a stupid failure!" King Zora's ominous words echoed over and over in my mind. _You're as bad as Ganondorf!_

I could hear Shiek kneeling down beside me. "Link, it hasn't ended yet. You could still--"

"But that's the thing! It _has_ ended! Who is there left to save? Every single Zora in this whole stupid country, every single one, a million or more, is dead because of me! Do you realize what that means? Sevens years ago, this country was full of them. I saw them. Probably almost as many Zoras were here as Hylians! And now they are all gone--dead--not because of Ganondorf, not because of the Water Temple, but because of me!"

Shiek put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't be silly, Dark Link was the one who killed them. It wasn't your fault."

I suddenly stood up and spun around to look at him. "Don't you understand, you stupid Shiekhah wanna-be!? If I hadn't saved them in the first place, if they had gotten some Zora to do it, Dark Link wouldn't even exist! It was because I dived into this stupid lake that the information necessary to create him even exists!"

Shiek rose and glared at me. I could have sworn, if he hadn't already told me he was a man... "Link, get ahold of yourself. King Zora died because of Dark Link. Now, if you don't finish this, if you don't put an end to this, he'll have died in vain and Dark Link will just keep on killing. Who said he'd stop with the Zoras? If you don't get down there and purify the Water Temple, then not only will the Zoras have died in vain, but Dark Link will keep killing and Hyrule will turn into a dried-up wasteland."

"Please!" A voice made both of us freeze. Even Navi stopped fluttering, darting behind my hat. Standing before the bridge was a tall figure covered completely in a dark brown cloak. All we could see of the mysterious figure were two gleaming red eyes. Everything else was enveloped in shadow. As long as the figure stood there, we would be unable to get off the island. We could only hope this was a friend. "Please, who are you?" the figure demanded.

I slowly drew my sword. There was something familiar about this person; if only I could see more of him or her... "Why do you want to know?" I asked cautiously, eying the figure carefully.

The replying voice was stiff and firm, though I couldn't tell if it was through arrogance or assertiveness. "Because I have a right to know!"

I glanced at Shiek inquisitively. He nodded, but drew his dagger anyway. I turned back to the cloaked shadow. "The man beside me is Shiek. The light behind my hat is Navi." In case this person was an enemy, I wanted to give myself away last. "And I...am Link."

There was a twinkle in the figure's blood-red eyes. Even with a cloak on, I could see the person's body grow tense. "L-Link, did you say?" it inquired.

I nodded. "Yes. And now it's time for my question. Who are you, and are you friend or foe?" I tightened my grip on my sword.

The figure rose its arm, revealing two silvery blue hands that stood out like ghosts in the darkness. Shiek and I prepared ourselves for an attack. The hands grasped the sides of the cloak's hood and pulled it back, revealing a silvery bluish-white woman's face covered in shimmering scales. The instant I could see the back of her head, our eyes locked and I gasped audibly. "I am Princess Ruto, your fiancé."

The rain ran off of her flat triangular head, marked by a pair of purple eyes on the back corners staring eerily at me. Ruto's face was delicate, tragic, and at the same time beautiful and fair. Her expression was unmistakably her own; she frowned resolutely and eyed me like I was refusing some royal request. Seven years ago, I knew Princess Ruto as a spoiled brat of a Zoran princess who could never take no for an answer. She constantly bossed me around, forced me to carry her throughout Jabu-Jabu's belly, and when it was all over she let it slip that my prize, the Zora Sapphire, also happened to be her engagement ring and she revealed that she was head-over-heels for me. Needless to say, I wasn't much of a fan of her. Like Malon, she was my age back then; now she was an adult. The moment I saw her face, I hoped her attitude had matured. Otherwise, I was in for a long, long conversation.

The daughter of King Zora didn't even give Shiek a second look. "It's been seven years," she stated rather unhappily, her attention completely focused on me. Her voice was almost cold, and very stiff. She sounded highly irritated. "You've been playing hard to get, Link, and I won't stand for it. No more running; as future Queen of the Zoras I hereby order you to stand beside me until I say otherwise!" I was taken aback by her behavior; at a time like this, it really felt out of place.

"R-Ruto," I stammered, "we thought you were..."

"...dead?" I nodded. Ruto shuffled uncomfortably, and for a brief moment (one of which I almost heartlessly savored) she broke her stare and looked away. It only lasted for a second, and she was once again on top of me. Her voice was softer, though, and had the slightest hint of sorrow. It was a fair, beautiful voice; I wished she used it more than her snotty voice. "I... I suppose it was only natural. After all, it's been more than two years... Father must have been worried sick... But even he knows that missing Zoras are officially announced dead after missing for two years."

"You mean you didn't know?"

She shook her head. "No. Ever since they took me away, I've been in hiding. I don't dare set foot in my kingdom."

"Is it because of all the killings?"

"No. It's because... Well, you'll probably think me crazy, but I've seen Lord Jabu-Jabu in dreams since the water swept me away from my father. He told me I was...'special,' more than just being a princess, and he said that I was to stay as far from the evil in my home as possible. I've been staying with the old lady in the Marine Research Laboratory ever since. It's almost ironic; the safest place possible is right next to the enemy, but nobody ever visits Lake Hylia anymore." It was so strange. I never perceived Princess Ruto as being so...wise. At least, I never imagined her _sounding_ wise. I had always thought her the denser than anybody else in Hyrule, save Mido and Princess Zelda. It seemed that these years really did help her.

Shiek spoke up. "But why did you come to Outset Island?" he questioned.

From her reaction, Ruto evidently didn't care for Shiek. Her tone of voice instantly grew snotty again, and she made a face. "Well, what's it to you? I'm a princess. I can do whatever I want." Shiek looked like he was about to say something, but fell short. "But if it really means so much to you, I'll be nice this time. I came because the old lady told me to. She said she didn't know why, but she could feel that the gods wanted me to go." Ruto turned back to me and smiled. It was really quite cute how the ends of her cheeks touched the edges of her face and made her fin-like ears quiver. I found myself smiling back. "Now I see why. The gods knew we were to be together, Link!"

I rubbed the back of my head. "Heh... Yeah..." I prayed to the gods I wasn't blushing.

Navi fluttered to Shiek's ear and whispered something. The Shiekhah wanna-be perked up. "Link," she interrupted, causing Ruto to once again make nasty faces. "Do you think the gods wanted her to go with you into the Water Temple?"

Ruto took in a sharp breath of air and almost choked on it. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled nearby forebodingly. "Jabu-Jabu's temple...?" Ruto gagged. "A-Are you serious?"

"Think of it, Link. The entire temple is underwater. Only a Zora could survive something like that; or at least, somebody with a Zora on hand. She may be exactly what we've been waiting for."

Ruto was wide-eyed. "What? But... But I can't go in there! Raiding our guardian deity's temple, especially when he's not here!? That's... No, I can't do it. Only Zora priests are allowed in there."

Shiek stared at Princess Ruto incredulously. "What are you, two years old!? Do you realize what's happening here!? This isn't some visit or some raid, Ruto, this is real life. By Farore's Book, you may be the only Zora left who can stop this pointless massacre! You're the princess of these people! Don't you want to save them!?"

Ruto was horrified. "You... You... You can't talk to me that way! Y-You're just a low-life! A peasant! H-How dare you even speak to me! I... Oh, just wait until I report this to my father!"

"Princess, your daddy's--"

I put my hand up. "Shiek, Ruto, cut it out!" Somehow, I didn't think this was the time for Ruto to learn about the fate of King Zora. I stepped forward and rested my hands on Ruto's shoulders. She looked up at me with a mixture of love, fear, and admiration. "Princess Ruto," I said sternly, "I need your help. Your people are all but extinct, and the only way to stop them from being wiped out if for you to come with me into your ancestors' resting place, the temple of Jabu-Jabu. There is no other way."

Ruto shook her head fearfully. "No, no, I can't! If I do I'll--"

"What? What will happen?"

The Zora princess bowed her head and leaned it against my chest. I think she started to cry. "If I go in there... Link, I don't think I'll ever come back alive. Jabu-Jabu told me...in my dreams, I mean...that she's waiting for me down there. She wants me to go in the temple."

"Who does?"

"Lady Morpha. She nearly got me, back when she took me from my father. She was going to kill me personally. I... I nearly didn't escape, until the sand people pulled me out near Great Fish Mountain. Since then... That's another reason why I've been hiding in Lake Hylia. Zoras need water to survive, but Morpha has been possessing all the waters outside the Lost Woods for three years! The only place to go was the fish tank in the Research Laboratory. The lake's been so dry, Morpha can't get up the coast to get me. But if I go into that temple... Link, she'll..." Her voice broke into quiet sobs. I hugged her comfortingly; I didn't really know what else to do, but I guessed Saria would understand. I just hope she'd understand what I'd have to do to get Ruto into the temple.

"Ruto?" I said softly.

There was a sniffle. "Hm?"

I kissed her gently on the roof of her bizarre head. It tasted like freshly caught Hylian Loach; my favorite fish. Quietly, I whispered, "I need you to come with me, Ruto." The fish princess stiffened and peeked up at me. She stared into my eyes for a moment, thinking. To help reinforce the answer I wanted, I added, "Don't worry. I swear I'll protect you."

Princess Ruto broke from me and stood at the edge of the island, which was more like a mountain considering the current water level. She looked at Shiek and I intently. She was an inspiring figure, standing there with the wind fluttering her cloak. "You'll drown if you enter the Water Temple as you are now, Link," the princess stated. "You'll need a change of clothes." With one of her webbed, ghostly white hands she reached into a pocket of her cloak and pulled out a blue tunic, similar to my Kokiri and Goron tunics except it was marked with the Zora Royal Emblem. I promptly received it from her. "It is a Zora tunic, woven by countless Zoras in Labyrinna after a swordsman such as yourself long ago made them wish more land-dwellers could visit the Zora Seas. It is graced by Lord Jabu-Jabu's magic, and will allow you to breathe in the water just as we Zoras do. Without wearing this tunic, the temple will become your tomb."

Shiek and Ruto looked away (or at least, I hope Ruto was looking away) as I hurriedly changed into the Zora Tunic. As soon as I put the hat on, though, I started choking. I... I couldn't breathe! No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to take in any air! Discovering my situation, Ruto quickly explained, "Your lungs are adjusting to support the gills in your hat. You needn't worry; your lungs will return to normal once--or if--you take it off, and all the same you'll be breathing normally in a few more seconds." Sure enough, my air returned in a minute after putting the hat on. My chest felt slightly weird, but I'd get used to it.

"Are you coming with us, Shiek?" I asked my companion.

He shook his head. "No, I have other affairs to attend to. A friend of mine in Kakariko longs to see me again; it would be rude to keep her waiting. Just remember, Link; there's a temple in Kakariko Valley that will need your attention when you are done here. It is particularly meaningful to me that you attend to it as soon as possible." There was a flash of lightning, and Shiek was gone.

"Well, looks like we're alone," Ruto grinned. "But don't worry, I won't make you carry me this time. That is, unless you want to."

I chuckled nervously. "Oh, heh, no, that's alright."

"Do you have any means of getting to the bottom of the lake?"

"I've got some specialized boots that should do the trick."

Ruto turned to face the water below her. "In that case... Come over here." I walked towards her and stood at her side. She pointed down. "The temple is directly below us. Lady Morpha will know of our presence as soon as we touch that water. Just remember, you promised to protect me!"

I nodded. "Yes, I know."

Princess Ruto suddenly grabbed her cloak and threw it off. I gulped. Even in the growing light of the morning, even in the rampaging storm, her naked Zora body was a sight to behold--literally. When I was a kid I always said adults were weird for liking this sort of stuff, but... When I realized Ruto knew what I was sweating about, she giggled; I could almost swear I was redder than the Fire Medallion when I heard her. "You don't need to be ashamed," she cooed. "We _are_ going to be married, after all." I started running Saria's song over and over in my head. Sure, Saria didn't have _these_, but I respected women who were more modest... Unlike Zoras, Kokiris understood the meaning of clothing.

There was no time for gawking, however. We quickly remembered why we stood atop a cliff, and at the same time we nodded and dutifully dove into the water, leaving Navi alone on the island. I sensed that somewhere not too far away, something evil awakened.

-

The Marine Researcher, Dr. Linebeck, had told me about the Water Temple seven years ago. It was the burial grounds of the Hylian branch of the Zora Royal Family, almost like the pyramids made by Gerudo kings long ago. The Water Temple also served as a place of worship to Lord Jabu-Jabu when Jabu-Jabu still lived in Labyrinna. When he moved to Zora's Fountain the temple wasn't needed as much, but they still sent Zora priests to make sure the water god didn't become displeased. The temple dove deep into the earth, allowing for the construction of a small tower in the center of Outset Island. Whereas Jabu-Jabu was worshiped inside the tower, the Zora aristocrats were buried in tunnels and catacombs on the inner cavern wall. The rest of the Zoras were buried in a cave not far from Headstone Mountain.

Yet apparently, there were features about the temple that were known only by a select few, secrets that didn't get out until it was too late. The Water Temple was linked with Zora's Fountain. All the waterways in Hyrule in the end flowed into Lake Hylia, and then further down into the temple. A tunnel in the bottom of the temple connected it with the bottom of Zora's Fountain, allowing the water to continuously circulate throughout the country. If the water in Zora's Fountain was removed, and a new, evil water was introduced in the Water Temple, it wasn't too hard for that new water to make its way into all of Hyrule. There were security measures taken, of course; there were ways to cut off the flow of water, but that removed access to most of the temple.

We found ourselves using those "ways" often. Some chambers were untouchable without the water being at a certain height. We'd have to scourge all the rooms to find the tools necessary to break into Lady Morpha's chambers. It was so bizarre; sometimes we'd be roaming about on dry sand, while other times we'd be walking through hallways underwater. Breathing underwater was the strangest thing of all. It was...unnatural. I'd inhale, and instead of "air" entering my nose, it entered three slits on either side of my hat. Strange thing was, I'd _feel_ it. My lungs would get air, even if I was circulating water through that bizarre hat. So whenever I was underwater, I'd breathe through my _hat_. Princess Ruto said I'd get used to it, but I wasn't so sure...

We had another run-in with Dark Link, but it was only a brief one. As it turned out, Princess Ruto could put up a fight in ways I could hardly understand. She was able to detach the long, flowing fins on her arms and used them like weapons to slap him with. Even cooler, whenever Dark Link got close to her she'd kneel and BAM! A whole forcefield of electricity would envelop her. Dark Link didn't know what to think; and even better, he didn't know about his weakness. Dark Link, as it turned out, was a physical incarnation not only of my reflection, but of the water my reflection was cast in. The electricity literally shocked him so badly that he vanished in fear of it happening again. We knew he'd be back; just not when. That time he was guarding something: a longer extension of my hookshot. Ruto coined the term "longshot" somewhere during our trek, and the name stuck ever since.

It was inevitable that we'd arrive eventually at the lair of the temple's wicked resident, which Ruto said was the High Priest's room. We stepped into a spacious chamber with a disturbing touch of madness to it. Paintings of screaming Zoras and shadows with insane expressions on their faces caused my hair to stand on end with a single glance. They were all crooked, to a point that it seemed on purpose to position them at arbitrary angles. Blood was splattered against the walls, dark with age. The bones of Zoras and fish lay in some nooks and crannies. The bottoms of the walls were lined with spikes that looked so sharp that they could even impale and kill a Goron instantly. The majority of the room's floor was taken up by a large pool with four pillars in the center. The water in the pool was that same slimy stuff we found everywhere else, but here it was far more concentrated and almost opaque in color. Our quarry was across the pool from us.

Atop a finely ornamented throne sat a Zora almost as beautiful as Princess Ruto, though this new one looked far older. "Good morning," she said slowly, her voice strangely heavenly while at the same time deceitful and untrustworthy. "I've been waiting for you, dear." Her body seemed to ripple like water with every word. She was almost the same color as the water itself, and if I weren't so far away I could have even described her as being _made_ of water. Both Ruto and I eyed the woman attentively, not knowing who she was speaking to. "You took so long getting here, though," the Zora continued. "I was beginning to get worried! But it looks like everything turned out good in the end. To my left I see a grown Zora princess, the last being standing in my way of total extinction. To my right, a swordsman who Ganondorf himself is said to have had trouble with. There is no question about it; this is my lucky day." Those last few words were said in a dark, low tone that made me shiver.

With a great effort to force my mouth to move, I managed to make out, "Wh-Who or what are you?"

The Zora laughed. She had that same uptight laugh as Saria and Ruto did, but with a touch of wickedness. "Why, didn't you figure it out?" Her face turned unfathomably cold. "I'm a murderer. The greatest assassin to ever grace Hyrule. I am Lady Morpha, Queen of the Water Temple and Exterminator of Zoras!"

Princess Ruto shook her head in disbelief. "Why have you done this to us? What did we ever do to you? You... You're one of us!"

Morpha rippled again. I didn't like that; it was starting to freak me out. "My dear girl," she grinned, "I am no ugly four-eyed fish-face such as yourself. I am the greatest beauty that Hyrule has ever seen! I've even been proposed to by the Great Ganondorf!"

"And did you accept?" I asked before I knew what I was saying.

"Of course not," she answered flatly. "I have no care for that useless worm. He does not realize it yet, but these Zoras are just target practice for my powers. I plan to rule all of Hyrule one day; not even Ganondorf will be able to stop me!"

My Master Sword started to rattle. "Link, what's going on?" Ruto demanded, eying the sword eagerly.

"I... I think it's trying to tell me... The 'darkness' is near!"

"The 'darkness?'"

I nodded and directed my glare towards Morpha. "I was told the Master Sword would react to the greatest of evils; but I thought that only would mean Ganondorf. It seems I was wrong; there is another dark power brewing in Hyrule, it seems."

Morpha smiled. "Why darling, I'm so glad you noticed! It shall be a shame for me to dispose of you two now."

"What did you say, Lady What's-your-face?" Ruto mocked, confidence exploding as she realized how safe she'd be with my Master Sword nearby.

Morpha rose and eyebrow. "You heard me. Now I shall kill you both, just as I single-handedly killed every other member of your pitiful excuse for a race!"

Ruto's confidence faded. "Every other? You don't mean to say--"

"YES!" Lady Morpha cackled. "That's right. My most recent kill...was your father. King Zora."

"WHAT!? You killed my father!? You stupid little bi--"

"Silence!" Morpha interrupted. "I've had about enough of this game of words. Time to die!" With the snap of her fingers, four large spheres of water rose ominously from her pool and donned a form I was beginning to be all-too-familiar with. Soon there were not one but _four_ Dark Links snickering malevolently at us, effortlessly standing atop the water as if it were solid. Lady Morpha pointed a webbed finger at Princess Ruto and I. "Shadows, attack!" she commanded. The Dark Links charged towards us, their own Master Swords in hand. I backed away nervously; soon they'd be upon us, and I didn't think we had what it took to get rid of them all.

"Alright, Ruto," I quickly instructed, mind reeling for some sort of strategy. "I'm going to feint a run to the left while you--"

Ruto wasn't even listening. Before I could even finish talking, the Zoran princess jumped in front of the Dark Links and let out a wave of electricity, viciously electrocuting all of the Dark Links until they were kneeling on the floor and crying for mercy. Even I thought it was a bit much; they _were_ shadows of myself, after all. Ruto just kept zapping and zapping them, no bolt satisfying her burning rage. "This is for what you did to my father, you stupid little worms!" she screamed, hitting the Dark Links with stronger and stronger voltage until even she was feeling some of the effects. Her fury was almost matching the bloodthirsty anger I had seen in King Zora moments before his death.

The final shock was directed at more than the Dark Links, who were then blasted into oblivion. With one final explosion of anger, Princess Ruto launched herself towards Lady Morpha's throne, surrounding herself with her electric forcefield. Before Morpha could get out of the way, the two made contact. Lady Morpha screamed in pain as electricity shot through her body; this shock, however, was far more severe than those the Dark Links received. After one painful minute, her entire body melted into the seat of the chair and rolled into the pool. She was, as I suspected, made of water.

Tears were pouring out of Ruto's eyes as she panted, looking at the spot where Lady Morpha had once sat. "Is... Is it over?" she whispered. The princess turned back to look at me. I could see the damage she had taken from her own powers. "I'm coming back over; just wait a second." Princess Ruto dove into the water and took off like a jet towards me.

Just as she was in the middle of the pool she screamed in terror. My eyes widened as a tentacle made of the pool's very own water seized her from the pool and hurled her towards me. I caught her, but the force was strong enough to send us both to the floor. As soon as Ruto and I realized how we lay positioned on the floor we both turned red. "Well, I don't know if I should say this is awkward or..." I trailed off.

"What happened?" Ruto cried, scrambling off my chest and looking back at the pool, where four tentacles now towered over the pillars in the center. They were all made completely out of the pool's water. "I thought we killed her!"

I don't know why, but something made me peer into the bottom of the water. Something was down there. It was almost eye-like, a strange, jelly-like object swirling around at the base of one of the pillars. "She was only an illusion... Look, in the pool!" I pointed down at the object. "That looks like a nucleus! Morpha's been hiding in the pool this entire time!" Ruto looked at me with wide, incredulous eyes. "By Din's Rod," I groaned, "why do these things always have to be so complicated? _Now_ how are we supposed to kill her?" After Queen Gohma and King Dodongo, I had thought I had triumphed over great, powerful beasts and life would be a bit easier. But then I met Barinade. Then Phantom Ganon, followed by Volvagia, and now Morpha and Dark Link. It seemed like whenever I needed to kill some specific person, it was always some super-powerful creature that required complex strategy to defeat. It was beginning to get less exciting and more of a bother.

"Longshot?" Ruto suggested. "Try pulling her out of the water!" Her relatively calm attitude towards strategy proved to me that she felt the same way about these "epic battles." After all, she had had to live through both the traumatic Big Octo (she could never look at an octopus the same again) and was forced to watch me fight Barinade while imprisoned against the wall of Jabu-Jabu's bowels.

I glanced nervously at the slimy tentacles. "But that would require me to get near her," I whined.

"_Darling_," she snapped, using a term I learned to hate seven years ago, "what do expect _me_ to do!?"

"Electrocute her or something!"

"I've run out of energy; I need to recharge first."

I sighed in frustration and submission and pulled out my longshot. "I'll stall," I said. I knew I was going to regret what I was about to do, but it made sense. I ran towards the watery maw and jumped onto one of the pillars. "Start recharging!" I ordered back to the princess. "Hurry!"

Morpha spent little time waiting, and her nucleus shot up into one of the tentacles near me. The tentacle took on a new sense of awareness and began to dive for me, but before it could wrap around me I fired my pointy longshot into the water and yanked Morpha out. Not really knowing what else to do, I started bashing her nucleus with my Master Sword as she bounced around on the floor in surprise. It seemed to hurt her badly, but not enough to kill her. She jumped suddenly back into the water, and before I could use my longshot again the water tentacle solidified and seized me into the air. She began thrashing me back and forth over and over again. When she was done toying around, she hurled me at one of the spiked walls. I screamed and thrust my shield out in front of me. The concussion was painful, and I was so dizzy that I thought I was going to throw up, but I was otherwise intact. My shield, unfortunately, was beyond repair. It was almost saddening; like losing a companion who protected me through many a battle.

I didn't have any time to mourn, however, because Morpha was back at me in as little as two seconds. Again I was flung around in the air, the world around me spinning and jolting wildly out of control. "Die! Die!" Morpha screeched with morbid glee from below me. Her voice was high and scratchy, like an angry cat hissing an intruder of its territory. "All the world must die!" I kept lurching closer and closer to the razor-sharp spkies on the walls, and I knew this time I was doomed if I was tossed towards one.

"Are you recharged yet!?" I screamed to Ruto.

"Just a little longer, Link, I'm trying!" she called back quickly.

"Well try faster! We don't have a lot of time!"

"Death for all!" Morpha cackled, slamming me hard onto the surface of one of the pillars, flinging me up into the air, and slamming down again. Hitting the tiled floor was like having my entire body go numb for a split second, only for my senses to return in a massive tingling sensation that only made the next hit hurt even more. Morpha's manic screams echoed throughout the spacious chamber over and over, so that even when she wasn't speaking I could hear the words "death," "die," and "all," piled on top of the most wicked of laughs I had ever heard in my life time. Morpha began swirling me in the air again, surely this time preparing to impale me on a spike.

"I'm ready!" Ruto announced.

"Get in the water!" I ordered desperately. "Hurry, for the sake of all of Hyrule, hurry!"

I heard no reply, and could only hope Ruto was doing as I asked. Morpha chucked me out of her grasp and towards a spike... In a miraculous burst of reflexes, I tucked my sword in between two of the spikes and used it as a lever to pull me above them. Just as I crashed into the wall I heard a splash, followed by the loudest of any scream there ever was in all the universe. I couldn't tell whose it was--Ruto's, or Morpha's. I could only hope the latter. Slowly I turned my head, and saw a very breathtaking sight. A massive tentacle wriggled in pain in the air before me. Wrapped within it was Princess Ruto, who was unleashing an explosive amount of electricity that enveloped Morpha in a light so bright it looked like the cursed pool was on fire. There were loud crashes like thunder, and bolts of lightning struck the sides of the walls. Ruto was almost like a thundercloud, and soon I realized nervously that the scream was both Morpha's _and_ Ruto's. "No, Ruto!" I cried. The electric attack was killing her. It was suicide.

A sudden gust of wind pounded through the room, spinning and spinning almost like a tornado, drawing out every last drop of Morpha's pool into a waterspout, with Ruto painfully at the center. I had to shield my eyes from the bright light with my arm and push my boots forcefully into the floor to avoid being blown away. The howling of the wind was almost as horrific as the two women's cries, and boomed in my ear like a chamber choir imitating the howls and moans of ghosts. Perhaps the wind truly _was_ ghosts, the souls of all the Zoras that Lady Morpha had slaughtered in her campaign.

I had to do something. I couldn't just let Ruto die! "Ruto, I'm coming for you! Just hang on!" I looked for something--anything--that I could use to stop this before the Hylian Zoras really did become extinct. Suddenly I noticed the glimmer of my decimated Hylian Shield lying on the floor. An idea crossed me. It was a crazy one, but it had to work. If it didn't...

With my free hand I seized the shield, bending down just in time as a lightning bolt crashed into the wall directly where my head had been just seconds ago. Drawing up all my might, I tried to look through the blinding light and spot out the Zoran princess. I guessed it would be the brightest spot, where all the lightning was coming from: the center of the waterspout. I took a deep breath, pulled my arm back, and threw the shield at the center. There was a thud, and Princess Ruto was knocked out of the column of swirling water. I couldn't see her through it, but I hoped her silence was from being unconscious and not from death.

Morpha's nucleus took Ruto's place in the center. Ruto's scream had ceased, but Morpha's only grew louder as a great bolt of lightning rocketed down through the middle of the waterspout and split the nucleus. She too then became silent, and the electricity vanished. I watched in awe as the cursed water was sucked up into a giant water drop on the ceiling, then began to rain clear, pure water down until the entire drop was decimated. The pool was refilled with real water; I could hardly believe it, after having gone so long with the eerie slimy body of Morpha. I jumped into it and splashed around with joy.

Suddenly, though, the temple began to shake and the water started rising. "What's going on!?" I gasped, watching as water began pouring over the edges and down under the cracks underneath the chamber door. The water level in the pool was rising at an incredible rate.

"Lake Hylia..." I turned in surprise to see Princess Ruto stumbling onto her feet. "It's... Filling up... You have to get out of here..."

"Why?" I inquired. "I've got the Zora Tunic, I won't drown."

"It's no good anymore."

"What!?"

"There's a spell on this temple. When not in time of need, anybody in the temple who isn't a Zora will die. You have to get out of here, before you drown!" With a rush of fear, I swam to the edge of the pool and started scrambling through the water to Morpha's door. "Wait!" cried the princess. "I'm coming with you!"

-

The clouds above Lake Hylia continued to linger like menacing spectators waiting for their next chance to strike. I looked up at them with wistful eyes, pondering whether I should be happy or not. By the time we escaped the Water Temple, Lake Hylia had already filled up; it was almost like magic, as if all the cursed water of Morpha was just the good water tainted by evil, released now from its curse. As Ruto and I climbed onto the shore beside the Marine Researcher's Laboratory, I was struck by the vivid explosion of sensual experiences. The salty smell of the sea, something I never witnessed with my own eyes, was so overwhelming that I instantly was able to associate it with the ocean, despite how I knew I was only by a lake. The grass, probably powered by the nearby Lost Woods, was already returning to health, and there were pinches of green where we lay. The great lake of Hyrule was coming back to life. How ironic it was that so much death should cause it. As I lay there, collapsed on the grass with such relief that the murderous storm was finally over, I realized Ruto was crying quietly beside me. Navi had returned to me, and her blue light shone above Ruto like a small halo.

"So many people have died," Ruto sniffed between tears. I realized her father's death had probably hit her. She must have felt terrible, so alone in such a large kingdom. Probably the loneliest person in all of Hyrule. "Oh Daddy," she sobbed, "why did you have to leave me? Why couldn't you have stayed?"

I put my arm around the princess to comfort her. "Are you alright?" I asked softly.

She didn't answer. She just looked up at the cloudy sky and tried in vain to wipe her tears away. "I won't even be able to hold a funeral! Who would go? Everybody's dead. My friends, my family... I have nobody left!" She started to cry loudly, and I gave her a tissue to blow her nose with. I had never seen Ruto so...so helpless. Usually she was in charge, a tough girl who preferred being alone. Now she really was alone, and it was too much for her. "What am I to do!?"

"You could always go to Labyrinna. That's where your father wanted to go," I offered.

Ruto shook her head. "I can't!"

"Why is that?"

"Because... Because my destiny is with the Water Temple. I'm... Link, I'm..."

"...the Sage of Water," I finished for her. "I know. Well, I didn't, but I do now. There's nobody better to do it than you, Ruto." She continued to cry. "And if it helps, I guess you helped me accomplish my goal. I've been searching for the Water Sage, you know."

She didn't respond, and frankly it took me only a few seconds to realize how hollow those words were. I was an idiot. Accomplishment? Who accomplished anything? Morpha dead or not, the liberation of the Water Temple was a failure. I didn't come to get evil women out of temples; I came to save the Zoras from the evil hand of Ganondorf. I had succeeded in killing Morpha, but I was too late. The only Zora left in the country was Princess Ruto. She didn't even have her own dad, and it was my fault he was dead. So what if she was the Sage of Water? There wasn't any Zoras left for her to protect. I could feel my own tears coming. Some hero I was. I failed Rauru, I failed Ruto, I even failed myself. It was over, and nobody was able to claim themselves the victor. All we were left with was a tragedy.

"...there's something I want to give you," Ruto whispered after a moment of silence. She stood up and turned around to look at me with her beautiful body and face. Her fins flicked back and forth in the chilly, salty wind. She had grown up. No longer was I looking at a pouty girl who couldn't even act her own age; now I looked upon a wise and powerful woman who avenged her species' deaths with a strength I'd never witnessed before. Ruto held a scaled white hand towards me, and in it was a large blue disc. "It's the Water Medallion," she explained. "Dr. Linebeck gave it to me when I stayed with her. She said I was only to give it when Jabu-Jabu commanded it. I..." She took a deep breath. "I think he wants me to give it to you." I nodded and gently took the Water Medallion from Ruto's hand. It sparkled in the dim light as if it were water itself.

"Do you think Lord Jabu-Jabu will return to Hyrule?" I asked.

She shook her head. "This tragedy is a sign from the gods. The time of the Zoras in Hyrule has ended, Link. As soon as my duties in the Water Temple are over, as soon as Ganon has been removed, I shall leave for Labyrinna. I have nobody left to rule over, Link; it would be pointless for me to stay." I bowed my head in solemn acknowledgment of the bitter truth. There was the sound of Ruto fumbling with something, and she cleared her throat to get my attention back. "There's something else," she explained.

Holding out her hand again, the Zoran princess revealed a Heart Container. "It's for you," she said, blushing heavily. "I... I've grown up, Link. I know now that my childish demands for you to be my husband were merely the dreams of a child; it could never be. I know my mother said the Zora Sapphire was my engagement ring... But I think considering the circumstances, I can make an exception."

"Oh," I mumbled. This was really awkward. I mean, it was a relief... But she _was_ kinda pretty...

"Instead, I want you to take this Heart Container and cherish it always. My heart now travels wherever your's does."

I observed Ruto's face for some sort of clue. Was what she said true--literally!? "Ruto," I interrogated nervously, "is this Morpha's heart?"

"That's a secret," she answered. Her face was as giddy as a young school girl's.

_Saria, Saria, Saria_, I repeated in my head.

-

In the end, we were able to hold a funeral after all. There was two people left in Hyrule who could still sympathize with King Zora, two friends of which could come. We held it that very day, not long past the rising of the blood-red sun. It was only myself, Navi, Ruto, Biggoron, and Dr. Linebeck from the Marine Research Laboratory, standing atop Outset Island and looking grimly onto the massive coffin holding King Zora's body. It was as if all glimmers of joy were sucked from our every body. Navi sat on my shoulder and leaned against my neck, quietly sniffling. Biggoron, giant among Gorons, sat behind the others, holding his own massive handkerchief. I had always thought Gorons so tough, but Biggoron's eyes were like waterfalls as he cried. Dr. Linebeck's eyes did not water, but it was because there was no water in her old bones left to be shed. She had less meat on her than a Stalfos, but she had braved the outdoors for the funeral because as King Zora's personal doctor she had known him all his life. Ruto stood in front of us all, looking down at her father's coffin with a hand full of Hylian Lilies from the lily pads in Zora Canyon.

"My father," Princess Ruto described, breaking the silence, "was a powerful man. Even in the face of the evil Ganondorf, whereas so many have fled in terror, he refused to back down. He led his people all the way to his untimely death. He died..." Here Ruto paused, because she could not hold her emotions back. We all waited patiently for her to stop wailing. "...thinking he was the very last Zora in the country. He thought he was all alone. In most recent years, he had lost me, and thought I was deceased. He... I... I never saw him! For years! He died almost a stranger, in a way, all alone in his frozen domain. We found him stone cold; his dead body couldn't even last the elements." I thought it was best not to tell her that her father died in a state of irrationality, or that he himself was threatening to kill me, and not to tell her that her "death" had caused him to go mentally insane. In a way, his soul had died all those months ago when Ruto had vanished, and he had been left an infuriated shell. "But despite the tragic circumstances of my father's death," Ruto continued, trying to compose herself, "I am sure he died a noble death." Navi and I couldn't take it, and I'm sure at that moment we cried more than anybody on the island. "He was a proud man, and he taught me my own pride and dignity. He didn't bow down to being assimilated into the Hylian Commonwealth; he was a Zoran King, and would always be King of the Zoras, a friend and ally to King Hyrule but never once anybody's inferior. When my mother died, he doubled his efforts to raise me into the lily blossom of Hyrule. But he was not only a friend to all the Zoras of Hyrule; he kept close correspondence with his brother in Labyrinna, and since childhood he befriended the Gorons." She looked back at Biggoron and nodded.

The immense Goron cleared his throat. Through a wobbly, booming voice he said, "King Zora and I were closer than any other pair in the entire world. We grew up apart, I in Death Mountain and he in Zora Canyon, but we'd visit each other as much as we could. We shared our knowledge, our fun, our joy, our arguments. We went through dating, and when he met Lulu I met Sagoron. We went our separate ways in the end, but..." Biggoron bowed his head. "I'm glad to have known him. He was my best friend, right up to the grave."

"When King Zora, then a young prince, came in for his check-ups, we always bickered and argued," Dr. Linebeck reminisced. "He hated being told to sit down in the water and let me check his gills, or being ordered by his mother and father to have his shots, and yet we wound up with a love-hate relationship. By adulthood, there was nobody else he'd come to to get his prescription medicine, and when others," she nodded towards Biggoron, "needed medication, he sent them to me too. I could rely on him for any ingredient I needed, and he'd give me the permission to study any aspect of the lake I liked. He trusted me with his life, and I trusted him with mine. I am sorry I was not there when he died, but it was in any case all too soon. There was no appointment."

It was my turn to speak. I didn't really know what to say. I tried to think for words, but nothing came out. I glanced helplessly at Ruto, who opened her mouth to speak, when Navi nudged me. It all came pouring out. I stumbled at first, but started going into a descent speech. I wasn't really good at these things. "When I... When I first met King Zora, seven years ago, I discovered a devoted father and a wise leader, skillfully manipulating his people in their search for the one person for whom he cared most about: his only daughter. I can still remember how glad he was when I brought her back from inside Jabu-Jabu. My only regret is that I did not know more of him. I... If I had known I would be in a coma for seven years, I might have gotten to know him better before I 'left...' He... His last words before he died were the same words he spoke when I first met him. They were demanding justice be served, and that the daughter whom he thought was dead be avenged. He even swore to take on Ganondorf himself. I am sorry I had to be the one to fail him when push came to shove." I nodded to Ruto, who gave me a weak smile.

"Dad, you were the best person I ever knew," she wept, staring down longingly at the coffin floating grimly in the water. "I can only hope you're better off wherever you are now. May Jabu-Jabu swim with you." Her last words were the hardest for all of us to hear, and probably the hardest for her to say. "Farewell, King Zora, Ruler of Hyrule's Waterways. Good-bye, Dad." She raised the Master Sword, which until then had rested on the grass at her side, and with tearful swiftness she split the rope anchoring the coffin to the island. The sound of the rope snapping echoed across Lake Hylia, resonating as loud as thunder in our hearts. In seconds, the current pulled King Zora's coffin under the water's surface and dragged it into the Water Temple, where he'd join his ancestors in their waterlogged tomb.

Ruto put her face in her hands and wept. I walked up behind her and put my arms around her. It was only a little comfort, but it was the least I could do to help. She wasn't alone; we all were weeping, and as the blood-red sun rose behind the dark clouds I wondered how many more people would have to be murdered before this wretched campaign was over. Would another race have to be completely slaughtered before help came? I didn't care if I found the Sage of Water. My fight was a lost one, and the tragedy of the Zoras would be remembered for ages. No matter how much the glacier at Zora Canyon melted, the successor to the Zoran throne was alone in the kingdom. The Battle for the Water Temple was a failure. Ganondorf would pay, though--that much was certain. He would pay, and he would pay dearly.

* * *

**A Note from the Author: **Arctic Succession, as well as Phantom Destiny, are two stories that I'd like to revise when I'm all done with this series, for the mere purpose of adding sensual details. Wales gave me a lot of inspiration, some of which you'll see in Impa's story, Rising Puppetmaster, but the rest of which really needs to find its way into Phantom Destiny.

As always, reviews are welcome, appreciated, and highly anticipated.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the third entry in my series of stories about Link and the Sages. If you've missed Saria's and Darunia's, be sure to look up Phantom Destiny and Dragon's Duet respectively; otherwise, if you're eager to find out what happens next, keep an eye out for Impa's Rising Puppetmaster.


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